Delta State Police Command have arrested eight suspects in connection with the abduction of a woman in Sapele and collecting a ransom of N2 million.
They include Raymond Etchie, 46 years old male who negotiated and received the said ransom: Felix Okoro, male, 40 years,who is one of the syndicate’s operational driver; Oghene Ogaga Sylvester, 45 years, make, who guarded the victim; Henry Edeki, male, 35; Ominike Sunday, 23; Jerusalem Sunday, 35, and Theophilus Akpofi, 29.
The 43-year-old woman (name withheld) was reportedly kidnapped by a syndicate of armed men in a tricycle along Shell Road, Sapele on November 19, 2023 at 9:00 pm with her ML-350 Mercedes Benz.
The victim was whisked away in her vehicle until it ran out of fuel before the kidnappers moved her into their operational tricycle and took her to their hideout.
She was, however, released on Tuesday November 22, 2023 after coughing up N2 million through her family members who were contacted on phone by her abductors.
However, the Commissioner of Police, Delta Command, CP Wale Abass, reportedly detailed the operatives of CP – DECOY Squad, led by ASP Julius Robinson, to engage all technically-generated intelligence to smoke out the hoodlums.
The directive yielded the desired positives as the squad, assisted by officers from the Sapele Police Division, during a sting operation on Saturday, November 25, arrested the syndicate’s gang leader, 41-year-old Morrison Godwin, from Okpara WaterSide Community, Ethiope East LGA at Amukpe area of Sapele town around 11:00a.m.
The suspect reportedly confessed to the crime and revealed an intended meeting with other gang members on the same day to strategize on another kidnapping operation.
Armed with this information, the police team laid an ambush at their meeting point on Sunday November 26, 2023 and arrested the other gang members.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, said the suspects have confessed to the crime and admitted their various roles, just as the victim has also identified them.
He noted that the suspects, during interrogation, disclosed the location of the victim’s vehicle which was later recovered at Oghara town while effort is on to recover the syndicate’s operational weapons.
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